Northwest Iowa — Contingency plans continue to be made by northwest Iowa school districts’ boards and officials to deal with the COVID-19 outbreak.
At the Rock Valley Community School District, Superintendent Chad Janzen says that seniors are being recognized online by their high school principal. He says commencement exercises are scheduled at this point for Tuesday, June 30th at 6:30 p.m. He says if it cannot be held by June 30th, the alternative date will be Saturday, July 18th at 2:00 p.m. Janzen tells us they have scheduled Rock Valley’s prom for Tuesday, June 23rd, and it is planned to be held at the Parkview Event Center. Awards Night at Rock Valley will be done via a recorded video. As far as start date in the fall, Governor Kim Reynolds has removed the restriction for how early school may start in the fall, but at Rock Valley, no decision has been made on a start date yet, according to Mr. Janzen.
At the Sioux Center Community School District, Superintendent Gary McEldowney says that discussions about a virtual graduation on the actual date were discussed for a while, but ultimately, they have decided instead on a ceremony which is now scheduled for Sunday, June 28th. He says they’ll do the best they can with the limitations that could be in place at that time. According to Mr. McEldowney, school officials want to try to have something in person. He says it probably won’t look exactly the same, and may have to be outside on the football field. School at Sioux Center will wrap up for this year a week earlier than originally planned. Prom at this point is scheduled for late June. As far as a starting date in the fall, McEldowney says they’ll try to find out what didn’t get covered during the COVID time and fill in the gaps, with Sioux Center’s first day in fall scheduled for August 10th.
At MOC-Floyd Valley, Superintendent Russ Adams tells us they have rescheduled their commencement ceremony to Sunday, June 21st. He says if that doesn’t work, the alternate date is Sunday, July 19th. According to Adams, if they are unable to hold the regular ceremony by then, they will hold a different kind of commencement ceremony. He says Mr. Mulder, their high school principal is working with his staff to prepare some type of recognition ceremony/video that will be shared with the seniors and their families. As far as prom goes, Adams says they are hoping to provide that opportunity on Tuesday, June 16, if it is safe at that time. Adams tells us they are still considering their options for the start of the year, but have not made any decisions at this point.
